The Man Who Can't Die
by Superanonymouscarrots
Summary: Nico receives a new assignment from his father, and it annoys him quite a bit. How can someone not die?


Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or PJO

Nico scowled darkly at the wet ground beneath him. Cardiff sucked. The weather annoyed him, the people annoyed him, the food annoyed him... Basically, everything about Cardiff annoyed him. To be fair, it wasn't Cardiff itself that annoyed him (not that that made things any better), it was the newest assignment from his father that had Nico fuming. How was he supposed to find a man who couldn't die? It didn't even make any sense. How could someone _not die_? Of course, that was the reason why Hades had sent him in the first place...

The rain was pouring quite heavily by this point, and Nico drew his aviator jacket closer around him, trying to fend off the wet. Sometimes he really wished he had Percy's powers. Or maybe a poncho. Whatever could keep him dry.

The man he was supposed to find was Jack Harkness. And, as his father's exact wording had been, _observe him. Find out what was keeping him alive_. Nico had did some research on a public computer (dangerous, he knew, but he was more than capable of defending himself), and the only Jack Harkness he'd been able to find was a Captain Jack Harkness from WWII. That made sense, if the man couldn't die. And supposedly the last energy signature from him that Nico's father had been able to get of Jack Harkness was from Cardiff. Great, that really narrowed it down. Thanks, Dad.

After shadow-traveling to some random alley, the dark-haired demigod had been trawling through thousands of back alleys and streets that looked exactly like the one he'd arrived in. What else was he supposed to do? He had no clue where to start. Maybe tomorrow morning would be better. Nico certainly could use a good night's sleep to come up with a proper plan. Then he could find Jack Harkness, gather information, and then leave the horrid place. Only Zeus knew why people still stuck around in the Welsh-speaking country.

Alas, nothing ever went to plan with a demigod. Ever. Just as Nico was thinking of his plan, he felt a sharp tugging in his gut, which pulled to his right. Specifically, the tug was two alleys down from his current position. Nico frowned. The only other time he'd felt that kind of tug before was when he raised Minos's ghost. How could someone be summoning a spirit all the way out here? Whatever it was, he had to go check it out. With a sigh, he jogged off.

Jack strolled out to the body, flanked by his trusty employees. They needed to test out the gauntlet, and the perfect opportunity had just presented itself. Being Jack, he'd grabbed it and hustled everyone into the SUV, with Ianto back at the Hub to act as backup. He felt his lips twitch upward at the thought of the Welshman. Dang, did he look good in that suit. 'Focus, Harkness,' he chided himself mentally.

As his team set to work on the body, he began monologuing. Hey, it made him feel calmer. And cooler. "There you go. I can taste it. Oestrogen. Definitely oestrogen. You take the Pill, flush it away. It enters the water cycle, feminises the fish."

Suzie pulled the gauntlet on and crouched next to the body. As Jack continued his monologue, he felt two sets of eyes on him and his team. One was that pretty little copper using the car park above them to spy. Points for creativity, though none for subtlety. He wasn't worried about her. No, it was the second pair of eyes that had Jack a little more concerned. There seemed to be a clump of shadow that was denser and darker than normal, jammed into a small opening in the alley. Alien, perhaps? It warranted investigation.

"Still, at least I won't get pregnant." Jack finished up his monologue. "Never doing that again. How's it going?" God, he sounded like the Doctor.

"Nothing yet. It's got to connect. I've just got to feel it." Suzie explained, still crouched next to the dead man's body. Of course, Owen had pipe up, and pretty much ruin the whole dramatic atmosphere Jack had been trying to project. With an internal sigh, he refocused on the experiment at hand.

Nico shivered, jacket soaked through with rainwater. He hurried away from the crime scene, digesting what he'd just seen. No wonder he felt tugging, that glove could bring people back from the dead. That just wasn't possible. One could summon spirits, reanimate corpses, but _reviving someone_? Oh, Styx. Dad was going to have a field day with this. Not to mention, that guy with the greatcoat and, of all the places to hear one, and American accent, had felt... off. Something about him made Nico feel odd. It was a totally new sensation, and Nico didn't like it. He'd bet anything that that man had been Jack Harkness. Finally, a stroke of luck.

He should have known better than to think that things were finally looking up.

Just as he rounded a corner, Nico heard a snarling sound from behind him. Spinning around, he attempted to draw his sword. Unfortunately, he was a little too late, as he felt something with claws slam into his shoulder. Crying out, Nico fell backwards as fast as possible, trying to gain enough distance to draw his Stygian iron sword. There was another snarl, as the monster advanced. Nico slipped a little on the wet ground, blinking water out of his eyes and trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder. He could kill for Percy's water powers at this point. Preferably the wrinkly monster that had somehow snuck up on him and was snarling at him currently.

Finally distancing himself, Nico drew his sword, falling into his familiar fighting stance. The monster snarled again, backing up warily in its...leather shoes? Yup, the monster had a full leather outfit on. He would never understand monster logic.

"What are you?" Nico growled at the monster. He'd never seen this type before. Maybe Annabeth would know? Now eyeing his weapon, the monster circled Nico slowly, looking for an opening. Nico kept up easily, making sure his sword was always between the monster and himself. "Come on, tell me about yourself. Name, species, best way to kill you..."

He must've dropped his guard a little, because the monster suddenly lunged at an opening in Nico's stance. Surprised, Nico backed up again, only to slip and fall onto his rump and drop his sword. Ouch. Darned weather. It wasn't fair. He was tired, confused, and in a dangerous situation. Why did the water have to trip him now?

Nico tried to bring an arm up to shield against the monster, but with one already injured from the first attack and the other supporting his weight, he really couldn't do much in that department. As the monster lunged, the dark haired boy brought up his leg and kicked it full in the face. Score! Now, if he could just find his sword...

But before either demigod or monster could do anything, a gunshot rang out in the alley. Nico flinched, expecting the worst, before the monster fell over, dead. He turned around, looking for the person who fired the shot.

Jack Harkness stood in the alleyway entrance, lowering a gun. "Darned Weevils."

AN:First fanfiction ever! Please review, and let me know if you want me to continue!


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